Celebrate Bubble Gum Day

Celebrate Bubble Gum Day

Happy Bubble Gum Day…yes, it really is a celebration in February

Bubble gum…remember all those times when you were a kid and you chewed wads of bubble gum and tried to blow the biggest bubble of all? Oh, and remember all those times when Mom yelled at you for having bubble gum in your hair after the bubble burst? Moms hated the stuff and we loved it. Ahhh…the good old days.

Find the old style bubble gum and feel like a kid again.

Guess what? You can still feel like a kid when you celebrate Bubble Gum Day on the first Friday in February. Moms don’t even need to get upset about the sugar…because now you can buy sugarless bubble gum. But if you still go for the old fashioned kind, no problem, that’s still available too.

The Good Stuff!

Who Invented This Fun Gum?

Here’s the story

Walter Diemer, was 23 years old and an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after his work hours he found himself interested in how gum was made. While playing around with a formula one day in 1928, he concocted a recipe that was not as sticky as regular gum. It also seemed to be more stretchy, and would bubble when air was blown into a small piece. Seeing there might be some possibilities to this elasticity, the Fleer Company began to manufacture and market it. The first year’s sales alone made the Fleer Bubble Gum Company one of the most successful businesses in the United States. Soon it was not uncommon to see people everywhere blowing bubble gum bubbles. The gum was named Dubble Bubble and it dominated the market for many years. Diemer said the finding of the formula was an accident and he never complained that he did not receive one penny in royalties. He was happy that he’d created something lasting. Diemer passed away in 1998 one day before his 94th birthday. Bubble Gum is still a childhood (and some adults) favorite today.

And so, on Bubble Gum Day is a day to chew bubble gum…oh, and go ahead, blow your biggest bubble.

What would you say if I told you to…..

…celebrate Bubble Gum Day by chewing bubble gum in class?

Oh no, that’s not allowed, you say? Oh yes, for Bubble Gum Day fundraising it is. Ruth Spiro, a children’s book author and Mom, created Bubble Gum Day in 2006. Her idea was to get kids involved in donating to charity, rather than selling something to their friends and neighbors. The kids were often uncomfortable doing that and dreaded it. There were other drawbacks in that style of fundraising too; possible child endangerment, people with too-thin budgets who felt obligated to donate, and the interference with the child’s after school homework and activities.

Spiro’s idea was different in this way: the child pays 50 cents to chew gum in class all day, on Bubble Gum Day only. All proceeds go towards several charities including buying animals through Heifer International, to send snacks to overseas duty soldiers, and to purchase books for Reading Is Fundamental. Many newspapers, TV networks, radio and magazines have featured Spiro and her idea for Bubble Gum Day. I’ve included links below for you to read further about this unique celebration.

Chewing Bubble Gum In Spite Of It All

You can still blow those big bubbles!

You can blow those big bubbles just like you did when you were a kid and have the same fun you used to have. Just be careful, ’cause as you know, if it pops and gets in your hair, only vegetable oil or peanut butter will take it out! Besides that, I might tell your Mom so she can call you and yell at you!

Keeping Up With The Times

If you really want to keep up with the times, try some Harry Potter Droobles. I’m not sure, but there seems to be some sort of “magic” involved in these bubbles, ’cause they look awfully big to me. Watch out! It’s gonna pop, it’s gonna pop, it’s gonna…POP! Aw gosh, it’s all in your eyebrows now too. Go take a bath in vegetable oil.

Limiting Your Sugar? You Can Still Blow Bubble Gum.

Let’s be adults about this now…and since we are, we know there are times we shouldn’t consume too much sugar. If you love bubble gum, you don’t have to worry about that at all, because all the bubble gum manufacturers make sugarless varieties. That’s a good thing, because you can drive down the street blowing your bubbles and feeling like a kid again. Of course, the people in the lane next to you may give you more than a second look, but hey! that’s just because they’re jealous they don’t have some bubble gum.

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